This Volume Provides An Overview Of The State Of Women`S Education In India Since 1988 In All Its Aspects In The Light Of National Policy On Education (Npe, 1986) And Its Programme Of Action (Poa).

One of the most important ingredients of socio-economic development that has attracted the attention of the planners, policy makers and leaders in the recent past is education. It is an established fact that education is an important catalyst of socio-economic transformation. In the advanced industrial societies of the world, education is provided by the states as a matter of right to all citizens. 1 The role of education was recognised as vital in arousing an awakening among the Indian masses even in the pre-independence era. Its contribution in breaking the shackles of slavery cannot be undermined as far as it helped in the growth of an enlightened intelligentsia, which carried forward not only the movement for independence but also a relentless struggle for socio economic reforms. After independence our planners, policy makers, and leaders placed immense faith in education as an important means of socio-economic transformation and modernization. Since the attainment of independence in 1947 Central and State governments of India very rightly embarked on a crusade against ignorance by expanding the facilities for education at all levels.2 The number of schools and of students attending them began to increase by leaps and bounds all over the country. There is no denying the fact that India has made tremendous progress in the field of education especially after independence. But it may be mentioned here that our present education system is not without maladies and inadequacies.

In 1991, an exciting journey began—then finance minister Manmohan Singh initiated what came to be called the economic liberalization of India. It was the beginning of a bold new era that would redefine this country. India threw open its gates to outside businesses, embracing foreign products, competition and everything changed, forever. Twenty-five years on, What’s Changed looks at how the country has metamorphosed since the first set of reforms were introduced. Experts like Kumar Mangalam Birla, Harsha Bhogle, Rama Bijapurkar, Siddharth Roy Kapur, and many others write about the changes they have witnessed in their industries. This insightful book edited by Kartikeya Kompella, casts a probing look at the quarter century of liberalized India and how it changed us all.

Contributed articles.